The Helicopter Has Landed: How Once Hover-Prone Parents and Their Back-at-Home Adult Children Should Cope with Career Challenges

HOBOKEN, NJ, May 23, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ — College graduation represents a milestone and achievement, as well as a major transition for millions of young adults. According to a new national survey* nearly half of recent college graduates (Millennials) have moved back to their parents’ home after college and one-fourth that are still in college expect to move back after graduation.

“It is vital for parents to understand that if a student moves home after college, there will be a tremendous shift they must come to terms with. It is a major adjustment for all parties. Their role as a parent will be vastly different than it was when their teenager left four years earlier: rules that were once followed will be ignored and demands made will be contested. And communications they used to have around a dinner table are now likely relegated to texts,” says Jill Tipograph, a nationally recognized educational consultant and youth expert, co-founder of Early Stage Careers, a company that offers career counseling exclusively to college students/graduates and helps secure internships and jobs for its clients.

It is rarely voluntary for a college grad to move back in with their parents. Rather, it is the consequence of too little or no income, high tuition debt, and low prospects on the career front. Rents are high and the job market is competitive, despite a robust forecast for the Class of 2017. Employers demand specific skills but are unwilling to provide the necessary training so entry level employees must get those qualifications somewhere else, either through internships or short-term education providers.

“This sort of unanticipated change can have a devastating impact on the parent/young adult relationship that leaves both parties unsure of how to adjust,” notes Lesley Mitler, a former successful executive recruiter and co-founder of Early Stage Careers. “This is especially true when the college grad is unemployed. Many recent graduates experience tremendous anxiety with full-time job searching. They want to work and be independent. As a result, they have increased pressure to achieve their professional and personal goals, as well please their parents.”

In order to be successful and happy following graduation, both parents and graduates must practice excellent communication skills and tolerance, and develop strategies to navigate this new phase of life. Parents must be supportive and maintain boundaries and graduates must adapt to the 21st century job market and take necessary steps to be employable.

Mitler and Tipograph outline a Game Plan for parents and graduates: Parents: Be supportive. Do not get in their way. Do not offer advice, unless asked. Practice patience as it takes time to find the right job. Understand their goals, not yours. Make them accountable and respect mutual boundaries.

Grads: Close the Gaps and identify where you need skills and experience and how to get them. Make finding a job, your job. Create a structured plan for each day so tasks are accomplished. Give yourself time to find the right job, and practice job patience. Consider a career assessment to clarify direction that finds the intersection of your skills and experience with real jobs. Architect your story and brand yourself; be your own best advocate. Use effective networking etiquette.

Without the infrastructure of professors, colleagues, career and other campus services, many college grads do not know where to start. They need to set realistic and attainable goals, have a clear and executable job plan and understand the job search process.

Mitler adds: “The vast majority of students are not taught these job search tools in college and truly don’t know what to expect during those first few months as a college graduate, particularly when moving back and living in their parents’ home.” Adds Tipograph: “Students can successfully make the transition from living away from home, graduating, then living back at home while searching for a job if they understand and respect the new house rules (which may not be ones they lived by while at college). Parents can do the same, transitioning and making the adjustment from ’empty nester’ to living with an independent college grad. They need to understand the changed group dynamics of living together again; shifting to their new roommate status. And these Boomer and Gen X parents need to understand looking for a job today is vastly different than it was for them.”

*Survey Source: Brokerage firm TD Ameritrade

Early Stage Careers, LLC Based in New York City, Early Stage Careers (www.EarlyStageCareers.com) works exclusively with college students, recent graduates and Millennials in transition; and they understand the unique challenges and needs of a young adult initiating his/her career.

Co-founders, Lesley Mitler and Jill Tipograph, parents of Millennials, have combined their many years of complementary experiences and developed a hands-on, customized, internship and career-launching process that has been proven successful repeatedly for their clients. They work one-on-one with students or recent graduates nationally and internationally to help them transition successfully from college to career, and find meaningful internships and/or their first jobs — turning this uncertain time into a productive process that’s both enlightening and constructive. The company also works with parents throughout the coaching process. In addition, Early Stage Careers also offers a highly-personalized Concierge Service. They will travel to meet clients for in-person coaching and advice, including their college or university.

By focusing their interests, coursework, and talents, the duo team of Mitler and Tipograph guides students/graduates to get the “right experiences” that will act as stepping stones in their career. Through customized action plans, they help grads understand their strengths, teach them how to become their own best advocate, and how to network effectively. They teach life-long skills that do not expire. Early Stage Careers empowers them to leverage connections and grow their contacts exponentially, providing access to an informal job market – to help them get hired.

About the author

Joshua Willingham

Joshua, a native Phoenician, lives in the west Valley with his wife and two sons. He has a BA in Management and 24 years of experience in Information Technology. He's passionate in his career of combining healthcare and IT to help doctors provide the best possible healthcare to their patients. Joshua also has multiple publications for IT education, which are used in universities around the world. He is a true Arizona liberal, supporting both human rights, equality for all.